Emmanuel Steverlynck on board

In late 1952, the general management was expanded, and the commercial management of the company was taken over by Emmanuel Steverlynck. The younger brother of Bernard and son of Karel Steverlynck was a passionate sales representative, for whom no effort was too much. Emmanuel would focus mainly on the sale of looms. Familiar with the world of textiles through the family weaving mills in Vichte, and blessed with an enormous commercial talent, he succeeded in building a worldwide sales organization and put Picañol on the world map. One of the first achievements of Mr. Emmanuel was the full development of a sales network: firstly, the internal organization was set up under the direct leadership of Emmanuel himself. The sales department was completed by H.B. Hess, formerly in charge of the textile department of Swiss Georg Fischer, and Roger Vermeulen, a former accountant. For technical support, Mr. Emmanuel relied on the knowledge and experience of Tony Debruyne, while billing was in the hands of Jozef Vermeulen. In addition, Omer Deschacht, a former secretary of Maurice Huvelle, became the head of the Public Relations department, a position Omer would wholeheartedly fulfill. After all, Emmanuel's motto was: “In order to sell, one must not only visit the customer, but above all, get him to come to Ieper, and convince him of the quality of the product”. A good reception, including a hunting party, will only stimulate sales. Pampering the guests with fine gourmet meals soon became the specialty of Omer. And due to the production of the modern President-weaving machine, the company created work in its own region for hundreds of people. In 1952, the workforce grew to 700 employees.

Mr. Huvelle on an international mission

In 1951, the Ministry of Economy appointed General Manager Maurice Huvelle to join a group of 15 delegates of the Federation of Belgian Industrialists (F.I.B.) to participate in a fact-finding visit to Central and South America. This was also Picañol’s first step into the region. Among the countries the delegation visited were Mexico, the Antilles (Cuba), Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. The purpose of the trip was to explore the local sales areas. In addition to the outdated industries, dating from the time the first treaties with European countries were signed, new companies were gradually appearing. For foreign machine builders, a market would soon be opening up here, which Picañol also wanted to capitalize on. After his successful participation in the economic mission to South America, in 1952, Maurice Huvelle was appointed President of another Belgian Trade Mission to Iraq, Indonesia and Thailand. In particular, Iraq proved to be a country with great potential, where the secrets of spinning and weaving had been uncovered centuries beforehand. After the mission, Mr. Huvelle was praised for his leadership. His outstanding authority, courtesy and subtleness as well as his unquestionable competence, were well received. Indeed, his work was so remarkable that in January 1953 he was summoned to King Baudouin for the first time. During their conversation, it became evident that the young King highly valued the Westhoek’s largest enterprise. This marked the beginning of a rich history of Royal visits. (1965 picture in Peru, M. Huvelle with prince Albert and princess Paola)

The foundry in the fifties

In 1953, the Americans started to apply a new procedure for casting model plates. Under this new method, model plates in aluminum were cast into plaster under pressure. The system proved to be highly valuable and soon Picañol was the first foundry on the European continent to apply the process at an industrial level. In early 1954 the foundry successfully tested ‘Shell molding’, a new treatment of molding in sand, enveloped by Bakelite. As the accuracy attained with synthetic sand proved insufficient for the requirements of the weaving machine parts and in view of the higher costs involved in the Bakelite method, the company decided to abandon the treatment after a while. During the course of 1954, the company introduced a silent molding machine. Jaimé Picañol had purchased a new molding line for the foundry in the United States although getting it to Belgium proved to be a huge challenge. Ivan Lambeets, Jaimé Picañol’s personal secretary, who was in charge of the transport, had to spend a total of four whole months in the United States to eventually get the machine shipped to Europe. The ‘Taccone’ was the first of its kind to be applied on the continent. Four years later, a cooling system was added to the outside of the melting furnaces, enabling casting in excess of 50 tons per working day of 18 hours, at an average of 3 tons per hour. Meanwhile, modernization of the foundry continued. A transport conveyor with changeable speed allowed for better cooling of the castings, bringing huge added value in the constant search for increased production. In late 1959, the Board of Directors decided to move the foundry – which already had a very ‘modern’ image – to the new industrial terrain between the Menensteenweg and the railroad Ieper-Roeselare. After all: the location was meant to be converted into an industrial complex of metal-processing companies.

The ‘President’ conquering the world

In 1951, the name Picañol was not yet widely known outside the European continent. The weaving industry was dominated by Draper and Crompton & Knowles from the US, Rüti and Saurer from Switzerland, S.A.C.M. from France and the German newcomer Dornier, a company with extensive experience in building airplanes. The ‘President’ offered European weaving companies an opportunity to resume capacity that had gone to waste during the war. Guaranteeing high speed and available at a relatively low price, the ‘President’ was a universal and highly suitable machine for the numerous suppliers of varied fabrics. As the machine’s popularity increased, potential customers were invited to Ieper for a convincing presentation of the quality and possibilities of the ‘President’. Many visitors received a tour of the company under the professional guidance of Omer Deschacht who in his own distinct manner, and while enjoying a great meal, knew how to convince his audience that the Ieper weaving machines were superior to those of the competition. Slowly but securely, a true agent network started to build, for instance in South America and the Far East. And ultimately, more than 160,000 copies of the ‘President’ were sold, earning Picañol both name and fame throughout the textile industry.

The ‘President’: a revolutionary machine

The ‘President’ was labeled a revolutionary machine very soon after its introduction to the market at the ITMA-exhibition in Lille in 1951 and given all the novelties it included, that label was fully justified. The ‘President’ offered the weaving industry an excellent combination of quality, simplicity and reliability. This new machine could manage a large range of materials, from light, imprinted textiles to technical and industrial fabrics, such as heavy canvas and basic fabrics for car tires. The machine’s success made a strong impression on Picañol’s customers, so much so that the Directors decided to increase production and hire foreign sales representatives. Although the new model was available in but a limited number of weaving widths, its construction allowed for the reuse of a large part of the basic parts upon extension, a feature that dramatically reduced the costs of manufacturing more ‘custom-made’ versions of the basic machine. The machine’s driving mechanism was simplified as compared to the model used for its predecessor, the Omnium. A ‘President’ weaving machine with a width of 188 cm could reach a speed of up to 180 wefts per minute.
Video: Inauguration de la foire des textiles à Lille

Launching the President

In response to demand from various sectors for more varied machinery in the early 1950s, Picañol started the development of a new product. The result - the new ‘President’ weaving machine - was introduced to the public at the ITMA-exhibition in Lille in 1951. A great number of President machines were sold following the exhibition, but largely in the existing sales areas. The new machine had to have a proper name. ‘President' was the suggestion of the son of the then Manufacturing Director Mr. Roig, a gentleman of Catalan origin. The idea was based on the fact that the weaving machine was supposed to assume a leading position in the market. However, the choice of the name did not meet with enthusiasm everywhere. When Picañol started to explore the market of the People’s Republic of China, it almost led to a diplomatic incident: the name was considered arrogant as, after all, there was only one President in the eyes of the Chinese People: Mao Zedong.

The works council

The Picañol works council was founded on 21 March 1950. Based on a shared wish for cooperation, the new council established even firmer ties between the management and the employees. An exceptional feature of the works council was that the Chairman of the company, Bernard Steverlynck, chaired most of its meetings. In addition, the meetings took place in a ‘person to person’ rather than the ‘employer to employee’ atmosphere that was the rule in many other companies. Nevertheless, the council had but an advisory role; it could not make any demands. The establishment of a works council also found a follow-up at a social level: a party committee was founded that would coordinate the activities of all the sporting and cultural associations. It counted six members in its original composition: Julien Nuytten and Maurtis Degroote were appointed by the works council, Maurice Quaghebeur and Frans Vanden Broucke by the Picañol Brass Band and Roger Bolle and Remi Stroobant were chosen via the WAPs.